1. Field of the Invention
The continuing increase in demands for energy and the accelerated use of natural gas and petroleum has increased the interests in alternative sources of fossil fuels. Oil and tar sands, which are prevalent in Canada and the United States, as well as other parts of the world, could provide an increasingly large source of fossil fuel, if the major portion of the oil and tar sands could be mined economically and efficiently. About 90 percent of the known oil and tar sand deposits are present under such a large overburden of rock and soil, as to preclude strip mining. Therefore, at present, about 90 percent of the known oil and tar sands cannot be economically and efficiently mined.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,749,314 and 3,797,590 disclose a high pressure jet nozzle and its use in underground mining. U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,479 discloses the use of such high pressure nozzle in the slurry removal of mineral ore from a storage container, such as a ship. Also of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 1,935,643, which is concerned with the mining and treating of oil bearing sands.